What’s All the Hype? Feeding the Energetic Horse

Find out how some simple diet changes might help calm your hyperactive horse.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

feeding hot horses
Multiple factors can cause a horse to be hyperactive. Be mindful of breed, management, and nutrition when trying to pinpoint probable causes for this behavior. | Photo: iStock

Some simple diet changes might help calm your hyperactive horse

He’s impossible to catch in the pasture when out with his herdmates. He’s jigging about while you tack him up. And he eyes every blade of grass beside the arena suspiciously, as if one might reach out and grab a fetlock at any moment.

Some might say he’s “feeling his oats,” pointing at nutrition as the cause of his hyperactivity. Could a simple grain change bring this four-legged kite back down to earth? Let’s find out.

Pinpointing the Cause

Many factors can influence a horse’s hyperactivity, including genetic predisposition, experience and learning, management, and nutrition. In most cases multiple factors play a role in this behavior and, without a complete understanding of each, it’s easy to single out nutrition, specifically concentrates, as the main culprit

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Kristen M. Janicki, a lifelong horsewoman, was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later attended graduate school at the University of Kentucky, studying under Dr. Laurie Lawrence in the area of Equine Nutrition. Kristen has been a performance horse nutritionist for an industry feed manufacturer for more than a decade. Her job entails evaluating and improving the performance of the sport horse through proper nutrition.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!